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Smart Energy

Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne / International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life

We follow the administration of the the US National Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission; a member of an international committee administered by the International Electrotechnical Commission developing global  Smart Grid and Smart City concepts.   Related developments happen in the following committees:

TC 8 System aspects of electrical energy supply

SC 8A Grid integration of Renewable Energy Generation

SC 8B Decentralized Electrical Energy Systems

TC 13 Electrical energy measurement and control

TC 21 Secondary cells and batteries

21/1166/CDV  IEC 61427-2 ED2: Secondary cells and batteries for renewable energy storage – General requirements and methods of test – Part 2: On-grid applications | Close Date: 2023-06-16

SC 23K Electrical Energy Efficiency Products

TC 34 Lighting

TC 82 Solar photovoltaic energy systems

TC 120 Electrical Energy Storage Systems

TA 19 Environmental and energy aspects for multimedia systems and equipment

International Electrotechnical Commission | Consultations

Freely Available ICT Standards

We limit our interest to electrotechnology interoperability issues that are present in education communities (rather than product related issues).   We track coordinated action among the ISO/IEC/ITU:

ISO/IEC/ITU coordination – New work items (January 2023)

Note that there is what may appears to be a “competitor” standardization project at the ISO — TC 274 Lights and Lighting.  There is enough coordination between the IEC and the ISO that we ignore the slight overlap for our purposes.

We also collaborate with other US-based and other international universities through several societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).  The IEC also has several committees where leading practice is discovered and promulgated that influence electrotechnology research agendas in both the academic and business side of the education facility industry:

SyC Smart Cities: Electrotechnical aspects of Smart Cities

SyC Smart Energy

The ambitions of this batch of documents is to formalize the landscape of the emergent Smart City (and, accordingly, #SmartCampus) by doing the following:

  • Providing the rationale for the market relevance of the future standards being produced in the parent IEC technical committee.
  • Providing an indication of global or regional sales of products or services related to the TC/SC work and state the source of the data.
  • Providing standards that will be significantly effective for assessing regulatory compliance.

In electrotechnology, a great deal of research is conducted in US colleges and universities — some of it funded by federal agencies; some by the corporate sector.    Where appropriate we identify and highlight their research and findings — especially findings that will find a way into best practice literature that informs safety and sustainability in education communities.   Many IEC titles are referenced in ISO, IET, IEEE and NFPA consensus products.

 

Take, for example, the Association of Medical Imaging and Electrical Equipment Manufacturers (NEMA) — the Administrator of the USNC /IEC Technical Advisory Group of the USNA/IEC — frequently  releases material for US stakeholders to review.   The USNA.IEC also publishes a quarterly newsletter:

USNC Current | Winter 2023

There is a great deal of economic activity in this domain so we maintain our focus on the technical specifics presented in draft material.   About 80 percent of the work involved in standards setting is administrative.  Our focus has always been on the remaining 20 percent that involves a non-administrative skill set.  Because of copyright restrictions on draft material — very common in the standards setting systems in many nations — we are mindful of releasing the full text of draft documents intended for public consultation only.

We do it this way out of necessity.  There is no structured workspace provided by USNA/IEC at the moment; only emails with attachments among USNA/IEC members.   Instead, we use a combination content management system hosted by the University of Michigan and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.  We coordinate our review of the state of energy sector literature here and with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee.   All IEC products are on the standing agendas of our Energy, Power and Global colloquia.   See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

University of Michigan

 

Issue: [15-197]

Contact: Mike Anthony, Paul Green, Jim Harvey, Massimo Mittolo

Colleagues: Mahesh Illindala (Ohio State University), Giuseppe Parisi (Sapienza University of Roma), Loren Clark (University of Alberta). Jim Murphy (Lawrence Livermore Laboratory: University of California Berkeley),  Brian Marchionini (NEMA), Paul Green (University of Michigan)

Category: Electrical, Telecommunications, Energy Management, #SmartCampus, Informatics, Information & Communications Technology

LINK TO ARCHIVE

LEARN MORE:

 

 

An introduction to the IEC

The IEC was founded by a group of pioneers in the field of electricity and electrotechnology, including prominent figures such as Charles Le Maistre, Lord Kelvin (William Thomson), Emil Rathenau, Charles Steinmetz, and Thomas Edison. These individuals recognized the need for international standardization in the growing field of electrical engineering, as electrical technologies were rapidly advancing and becoming more prevalent around the world. The IEC was established as a non-profit organization with the goal of creating and promoting consensus-based standards that would be recognized and adopted globally. 

 

Generation Connect

Cloud Ecosystem

Net Zero by 2050

 

Service requirements for distance learning

Hans Christian Ørsted discovers electromagnetism / Københavns Universitet

We follow the uptake in international distance learning enterprises with particular interest in its technical foundation for quality and availability.   International Telecommunication Union Recommendation F.742 provides the service description and the requirements for distance learning services. This Recommendation is intended to support the multimedia framework for distance learning services.  From the project description:

“…Distance learning involves interactive and non-interactive multimedia communications between learners and learning resources located at two or more separate locations. The aims of learners who use distance learning services may be to get some degree certificates based on the degree standards, to get training given by employers, or to learn special knowledge independently. The distance learning services may be teaching-centred learning services that are similar to traditional face-to-face classroom learning, individual instruction, self-pacing learning, multi-role learning/team learning, etc.

In the course of distance learning, information may be required from remote databases containing the learning resources, or from live lectures. The material may be textual, aural, graphical, or video in nature and may be stored in a multimedia format. The information can be delivered in point-to-point configuration, point-to-multipoint or multipoint-to-multipoint configuration.  Participants in the distance learning may be located in classrooms equipped with related facilities, offices, homes or other places, such as on trains, where they are able to access to a distance learning services platform. Learners may learn in real-time with or without interaction with others, following a curriculum schedule or in non-real-time by themselves on demand. The equipment that learners use may be a PC, PDA, mobile phone, or even a TV set with STU. Learners can change their equipment without interruption while they are learning, with the assistance of a DLSP…”

Note that the last revision became effective in 2005; and was re-affirmed in 2008.  Other ITU documents relevant to the education industry can be found on the page linked below:

ITU-T Recommendations

We normally coordinate our engagement with ITU standards with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee which meets four times monthly in European and American time zones.  We discuss any best practice title affecting education communities every day at 11 AM Eastern time.  We also host a periodic teleconference on the status of Cloud best practice literature.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

Issue: [8-8]

Category: Academics, Electrical, Information and Communication Technology, Telecommunications

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Mike Hiler

LEARN MORE:

Blockchain & Distributed Ledger Technologies

Despite the name given to this ISO technical committee blockchain and distributed ledger technology are related concepts but they are not exactly the same thing.

• A distributed ledger is a database that is spread across a network of computers or nodes, where each node has a copy of the same database. When a new transaction is made on the network, it is verified by multiple nodes and added to the ledger, which creates a permanent and tamper-evident record of the transaction.

• Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger that uses blocks of transactions that are linked together in a chain. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, which creates an unbreakable link between the blocks. This creates a tamper-evident and secure ledger that is resistant to modification.

While blockchain is a specific type of distributed ledger, not all distributed ledgers use blockchain technology. Other types of distributed ledgers include directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), Hashgraph, Holochain and Cordo.

The key difference between blockchain and distributed ledger technology is that blockchain is a specific type of distributed ledger that uses blocks of transactions that are linked together in a chain, whereas distributed ledger technology refers to any database that is spread across a network of computers or nodes.

“Composition A” 1923 Piet Mondrian

Blockchain technology is changing the financial underpinnings of all economic sectors including the education industry in every nation.   Accordingly, the International Standardization Organization has set up a relatively new technical committee — ISO/TC 307, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies — to meet the need for standardization in this area by providing internationally agreed ways of working with blockchain and distributed ledger technology to improve security, privacy and facilitate worldwide use of the technology through the highest possible level of interoperability.

The consensus products emerging TC 307  will be relevant not only to not only education industry trade associations who claim an educational/accreditation mission but to college and university marketing departments  that can, and should be interested in the ISO 307 products if for no other reason than to secure their claim to mastery of (in the argot of the moment) the most “woke” technologies for students and parents.   The executive summary and global participation map is linked below:

STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLAN ISO/TC 307

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR PROJECT HOME PAGE

In our 20+ year engagement with ANSI accredited standards-setting organizations; and nearly 20-year involvement in international standards promulgated by the ISO, IEC and ITU, we find early drafts of international standards are fairly dilutive; owing to the need to find agreed-upon definitions and the need to assemble an informed, durable and funded group of subject matter experts that can withstand the long-haul.  A few of the focus areas we recommend for leaders of the US #WiseCampus zietgeist are listed below:

  • Legally binding smart contracts
  • Interactions between smart contracts in blockchain and distributed ledger technology systems
  • Discover issues related to interoperability
  • Guidelines for governance
These are the ongoing focus areas of various committees that appear to contribute to building a foundation for lower (or re-rationalized) costs in the education industry.  We keep a weather-eye out for blockchain standard disruption of school district, college and university bond funding mechanisms.  The network of stakeholders involved in education facility funding may be an application of blockchain technology that should be investigated.   As always, we will try to separate speculative hype from proven, practical approaches to reducing cost.

The public working area identifies committee activity during October-November; characteristic of early-stage ISO product development. US stakeholders — which should include education communities — should communicate directly with INCTIS.

CLICK ON IMAGE

Standards Australia is the Global Secretariat.  Our US colleagues are encouraged to communicate directly with ANSI’s ISO Team and/or the  Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group  InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) 1101 K Street NW, Suite 610, Washington, DC 20005, Phone: (202) 626-5737.  This standard is on the standing agenda of each of our Blockchain, Global, Infotech and Finance colloquia.  See our CALENDAR.

 

Issue: [17-351]

Category: Finance & Management, International

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben

LEARN MORE:

Ledger Insights: ISO blockchain standards planned for 2021

Security and Resilience

Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters,
you have no need for anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come
like a thief at night.
When people are saying, “Peace and security, ”
then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief.
For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

“Breakfast Under the Big Birch Tree” 1896 Carl Larsson

We follow the development of public policy documents produced by International Organization for Standardization technical committee 292 (ISO TC/292) because the concepts emerging from these committees for at least two main reasons:

a) they find their way into the assumed vocabulary of government security management regulations

b) as an global industry, the education industry should contribute to a common vocabulary for resilience concepts as a matter of collegiality and respect for global collaborators.

Admittedly, the time frame in which the blue sky conceptions of global committees become tangible to campus communities usually spans well beyond the tenure of most college and university presidents; much less the business leaders in the education industry who would be on the front line of assuring campus security.

From what we gather, the work products of TC/292 committees seem to tip-toe around the products of other ISO committees.   The Business Plan — linked below — is a starting point for understanding why an international industry, with scholars collaborating with one another from all points of the globe, needs to understand where this standard is headed:

STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLAN: ISO/TC 292 Security and resilience

From the TC/292 Mission Statement:

The mission for ISO/TC 292 Security and resilience is to produce high quality standards to support nations, societies, industry, organisations and people in general. The purpose of these standards is to enhance and sustain the state of being free from danger or threat and to feel safe, stable, and free from fear or anxiety.

There are enough “trigger words” in this statement for the US education industry to pay attention.   Based upon our experience the substance of standard will begin showing up in bibliographies of academic research papers first; then showing up in international studies course curricula, and ultimately in consensus documents setting the standard of care for strategies and management of security “systems”.   We hazard a guess that it will take 6 to 12 years for this document to begin affecting security management decisions on college and university campuses; primarily in ANSI accredited safety standards — soon enough for a deep cycle industry.

The American National Standards Institute is the US Member Body to the ISO.   The Swedish Standards Institute (SIS) is the global Secretariat.  The North American Security Products Organization (NASPO) has replaced ASIS International as the US TAG Administrator.  The landing page for news on  NASPO consensus products is linked below:

Standards Development

Any stakeholder — and we mean either an academic or business user-interest from a school district, college or university — within the United States should communicate directly with NASPO.  We will not be participating in the development of this product but we will maintain it on the standing agendas of our Risk and Global colloquia.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

Issue: [16-128]

Category: Security, Risk, Global

Contact: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer

 

More

ANSI-Accredited US Technical Advisory Groups to the International Standardization Organization

Standards Support Natural Disaster Preparedness and Recovery as Hurricane Dorian Moves from the Bahamas to Florida

ARCHIVE: ISO 292 Resilience

Cyber security for the healthcare sector

Coffee

“The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence
of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce.”
– Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858)

Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet

As the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) encourages its members and relevant stakeholders to participate in discovering standardization solutions in a broad range of technologies and markets with like-minded experts in other national standards bodies.  The full sweep of ANSI’s participation in consensus documents developed by the ISO is described in the link below:

ISO Programs – Overview

Today we revisit a product familiar to daily life at home and in business: coffee.   The ISO administers leading practice discovery and promulgation in the global coffee value chain through parent Technical Committee 34 (TC34) with the Association Française de Normalisation as the global Secretariat with the Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas as the twinned Secretariat*.  Subcommittee 15 oversees standardization in the field of coffee and coffee products, covering the coffee chain from green coffee to consumption, in particular. Standardization includes terminology, sampling, test methods and analysis, product specifications and requirements for packaging, storage and transportation

From the ISO/TC 34 prospectus:

Business Plan ISO TC34 Food Products

Sample from ISO Online Browing Platform: (Expect strong access firewalls)

Coffee and coffee products — Vocabulary

Coffee — Sensory analysis — Vocabulary

Roasted ground coffee — Determination of moisture content

The Secretariats for this subcommittee is currently held by Colombia (ICONTEC) but, with ANSI announcing in 2019 that it is relinquishing its role as the US Technical Advisory Group Administrator in 2019, there has been no US stakeholder participating.  In 2019 ANSI posted an invitation for another US-based stakeholder to assume the voice of the United States:

ANSI Standards Action Page 34

ANSI US TAGs to the International Organization for Standardization

Apart from the passion that young people have for fair trade in any market, we see this as an opportunity for faculty and students to gain insight into the geo-politics of food supply generally and the subtleties of coffee markets.   Business schools, agricultural colleges, international studies program developers who may be, and should be, interested in a leadership opportunity on behalf of the United States should communicate directly with ANSI’s ISO Team (([email protected]).

We devotes an hour every month to review public commenting opportunities on all international standards.  The work products of TC 34 appears on the standing agenda of both our Global and Food teleconferences.   See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.

Issue: [19-46]

Category: Academic, International

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer

* ISO Guidance on Twinning

LEARN MORE:

“The Golden Cup” Coffee Standards

“Gold Cup History & Future”

 

 

5G Infrastructure-agnostic orchestration

Brokering standards by consensus

 

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888-746-3670

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